Seniors Housing

Turner wins bid for 26-acre CCRC in Overland Park, Kan. Turner Construction has been awarded a $24 million contract for the construction of a 160,000 sq. ft. continuum of care campus in Overland Park, Kan., for Village Shalom Inc.

The New York-based company is expected to finish the project, also known as Village Shalom, this spring.

Located in several interconnected buildings on a 26-acre campus, Village Shalom includes a 54-unit assisted living facility, a two-story health center and a one-story dementia care facility with 36 units.

HCR ManorCare and Alternative Living cozy up in new partnership HCR ManorCare and Alternative Living Services are new partners in a joint venture that includes the sale of 29 HCR assisted living and Alzheimer's residences to ALI for nearly $200 million incash. The new alliance also plans to develop and build up to $500 million of seniors housing in HCR core markets.

Of the 29 residences Brookfield, Wis.-based ALI will acquire from HCR, eight are still under construction but are scheduled to open by the end of the year.

As part of a licensing agreement between the two companies, Toledo, Ohio-based HCR will share ALI's Clare Bridge service mark.

The company will build a 180-bed assisted living facility with an Alzheimer's care wing as part of an expansion drive that includes several acquisitions in the Southwest worth nearly $4 million.

Recent deals show growing trend for aging-in-place concept Aging-in-place, a concept that some real estate professionals say is rapidly replacing nursing homes and congregate care, is underscored by the recent $9.2 million sale of 16.6 acres of land in Fountain Valley, Calif., for the development of seniors housing, according to Dave Stolte, director of seniors housing for the Charles Dunn Co., which represented the buyer.

Stolte says he is currently working on nearly 60 sites in Southern California for aging-in-place projects, and he predicts that the market could absorb 100 new sites, one-third of which could be earmarked solely for Orange County.

"We are an aging society, so creating a neighborhood environment is the way to go," he adds.

ASHA appeals FCC satellite ruling in Federal Court The American Seniors Housing Association joined forces with other real estate organizations, including the Institute of Real Estate Management and National Association of Realtors, in filing an appeal to overturn a Nov. 20, 1998 Federal Communications Commission (FCC) order granting apartment residents the right to install individual satellite dishes and antennas without approval from building managers.

At issue is whether the FCC's decision violates the Fifth Amendment. The real estate coalition's petition claims that the FCC doesn't have authority to adopt the order.

"The FCC not only overstepped its authority," says ASHA Vice President Jim Arbury, "but it also ignored basic safety guidelines. These satellite dishes can be dangerous, even lethal, if they are are installed improperly or if they come loose in a storm.".

Meditrust restructures $277M Merrill Lynch payback plan Following last month's companywide restructuring plan and the downgrading of its stock, the Meditrust Cos. recently made another big move, selling off 34 senior housing developments in an effort to payback half of a $277 million financing package due to Merrill Lynch International this month. Meditrust expects to repay the remaining $103 million through an exclusive offering of preferred stock to Merrill Lynch International.

Needham, Mass.-based Meditrust only recently unveiled its plan to split the company into two separately traded real estate investment trusts (REITS), one for healthcare and the other for lodging.

The $7 billion company also intends to retain its paired-share structure, which will become part of the new lodging REIT.

So far, Meditrust has sold off $613 million of assets, including eight free-standing rehabilitation centers to HealthSouth Corp. for $119 million.